Education has always been a central concern for parents who move to Austin but that could be because the city is such an educated town. With scores of national accolades and strong community support Austin’s a win-win proposition for education and for those who relocate to Austin.
Forbes has designated Austin Texas as one of the U.S.’s biggest “brain magnet” cities – the result of the magazine’s analysis of the 50 largest metropolitan areas and ranking them by gains in those with college educations compared to the population over 25 years of age between 2007 and 2009. Austin Texas was one of the top cities with gains scoring high marks all around.
CNN Money has named Austin sixth in its America’s Smartest Cities (2010) list and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance included University of Texas at Austin on its 2011 list as one of the “best values in public education.” And the Austin Independent School District outperformed many of the nation’s schools in science according to results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – where Austin ISD fourth and eighth-graders did better in science than other urban districts across the nation.
We’ve also been recognized as one of the country’s “top five intellectual capitals” and we’ve been ranked among the top five cities in Forbes annual “Best Place for Business and Careers” listing for the last several years in part because of a highly educated workforce.
Growth education and community support
It’s not surprising that the city’s growth in recent years has had a considerable impact on education. School districts have doubled in size to accommodate the growing number of students from families who move to Austin with residents consistently approving bond packages in Austin and surrounding communities to renovate and build new schools.
The business community is also committed to education with alliances like Austin Partners in Education (www.austinpartners.org) – a collaboration between the Austin Independent School District and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce in which business community partners are matched with schools or districts providing volunteer services in-kind contributions or cash donations. A nonprofit organization the group offers schools support with technology and other necessary resources.
Other partnerships include the Skillpoint Alliance (www.skillpointalliance.org) – a program that promotes workforce development in such in-demand industries as technology (especially semiconductor information technology and digital media); healthcare; and construction.
